Hey guys, I bought a 1996 dodge Neon 4dr couple weeks back...for the most part she was running pretty good, til day before yesterday, I started hearing a metallic squealing coming from the cam gears area...well now i found out after the car stop running, that basically more then half the cam cap bolts were stripped, and somehow, jumped time and broke the intake camshaft. Anyway i'm very new to the neon crowd. The guy i bought it off of swapped in wire harnesses, head,intake etc from a '99 dohc car. The shortblock itself is still a sohc set-up. Well since the dohc head that i just pulled from my car is basically junk, i know a guy that has a nice pnp sohc head, zexs cam, fidanza adj cam gear, intake...the really rare sohc cast intake, extruded honed,etc...that was on some m/y cars in '96....anyway i wanted to look into installing this head onto my car...back to somewhat factory configuration...correct me if i'm wrong and shine lil light in here 4 me...since the car is wired for a '99, i need engine harness for '97-'99 sohc, and ecu and other excessories, correct...if need be i can run the dohc ecu til i can get a sohc ecu....believe she'll just run real rich. car is mtx...but so far i have picked up sohc header, atx t/b the head and intake...i know alot of guys are going to bust my chops about goin back to sohc...but with a decent amount of work( bolt-ons) she can hang just fine with dohc cams...just looking for lil info on what i would need to go back to sohc...

 

You really need to find a 96-99 Neon SOHC MTX in a JY and get the PCM and front and rear wiring harnesses (unless you like to splice connectors).

You will need the SOHC timing kit (get a new water pump too). You will need SOHC head bolts as DOHC bolts will not work. You also need a new/used exhaust manifold. It sounds like you got everything else.

As for going from DOHC back to SOHC, unless you are building a street rod, whoopty doo. The SOHC with an MTX is still zippy enough for me to blow the doors off the import rice burners that pull up next to me and think they are all that with the fancy add-ons and 60000 watt stereos pumped up to levels that make my fillings rattle at red lights. Their cars looking like an alien squatted on it and took a dump. I just sit there in my completely stock Neon and when the light goes red, I jump off the line so fast that I am usually about 2-3 car lengths ahead before I just back off and let them roar past me like idiots... It is funny to watch them think I am racing them when in fact, all I am doing is showing them that spending $6 - $10K don't always buy speed off the line. I like being able to get out of a pile of traffic when I want to, but get 35mpg most of the time when I just cruise along.....

 

The only difference between on the engine harness between 1996 sohc and 1999 dohc are the connectors for the fuel injectors and the location of the coolant sensor.

The fuel injector issue can be overcome by simply using the 96 injectors. 2.0L and n/a 2.4L fuel injectors are the same. Just reuse the same injectors. Rewiring for different connectors is not necessary.

As for the coolant sensor location, just tape up the extra wiring.

A new sohc timing belt, water pump, head gasket, and head bolts should be installed with this conversion. Sohc and dohc head bolts are the same between 2.0L engines. The 2.4L head bolts have a varying set.

 

i wouldnt worry about gettin a new harness but def. the computer. i would just extend/shorten and splice wires as necessary. ive gone sohc to dohc except i just swapped out the sohc motor for a complete dohc motor using the sohc harness. and i have a sohc mtx comp for a 97.

 

Ok well that works out alot easier then i thought it would, Whats up with the single cam heads your selling? buddy of mine wanted me to ask you.

 

you trieing to sell theat 97 ecu, if so how much...all the ones i found around here are atx ones...let me know thanks

 

i have a sohc mtx ecu and will trade for a mtx dohc ecu

 

What sohc mtx year ecu do you have, i plan on keeping the 97-99 harness as long as its between those years i'll trade straight up, my dohc ecu is a 8/98 ecu.

 

40 shipped if ur trade deal doesnt work out.

 

These heads are ported to accommodate stock and street strip cars. Heads have been bias ported to promote turbulence while keeping low end power. The stock valves are polished to resist carbon build up, along with new valve seals. There is a more work involved. Is you friend need a cylinder head?